Attachment for gear-shifting and braking mechanism



Jan. 15 1924.

V. CHUCHEL ATTACHMENT FOR GEAR SHIFTING AND BRAKING msciumxsm Filed July 13'. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 AIR-" mvsrrron Jan. 15, 1924.

' v. CHUCHEL lATTACHMBNT FQRJGEAR SHIFTING AND BRAKING MECHANISM Filed July '13 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INQIENTOR I Z/W Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

VAGLAVCHUCHEL OF PITTSBURGH; PENNSYLVANIA?- ATTACHMQENT FOR GEAR-SHIFTING' AND BRAKINGJVIEC HANISME Application filed 1111 13,,1923. Serial no. 651,310.- a

To all whom it 'maytoncem:

Be it known that I," VAoLAvCHUoHnL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and'State of Pennsylvania, have made a for ,G'ear-Shifting and "Braking Mechanism, of iwhichthe following is a specification;

The invention relates to an attachmentfor use with the gear shifting and braking mechanism-of automobilegan d is particularly designed for use on Ford cars, in

which the servicebrake andthe forward and reverse movements of the car are "con trolled by three pedals, all ofwhic'h are spring held in their rear positions. These pedals are commonly referred to as the brakepedal, the revers'erpedalkand the clutchpedal; Vith' the brake pedal inyitsrea'r spring gheld positi'on, this-brake is released,"

and is applied 'byjpushing, the pedal forward. Withthe reverse pedal in-lits'rear spring held position, the're'verse gear drive is disconnected, and to 'apply'such j'connec tion, the pedali'is pressedforward. With theclutch pedal inl'its' rear springjheld- 'po' sition, the gear connection is "in high. Ona forward movement of this pedal, theclutch is first shifted to neutral" position (disconnecting the drivefrom'the motor), and on a further forward movement the connection is brought into "low."

With this mechanism, and with the gear in high, it is necessary in- -stopping;the" car, to use both feet; first pushing the clutch!- pedal 'forward'to 'neutr'al and then applying pressure tothe brake pedal. If'this order is not observed, and the brak'eipedal, is applied first,there-'is danger of1injuiylj to the gears, orthe engine may-be stalled. Also in'icase the machine is standing, and it is desired'to 'back the carfit is necessary, to hold the-clutch pedalforwardin neutral position with" one foot,- while the reverse pedal is' pressed forward with the .othe z i foot; L

willsimplify the operation 'asv above set; forthgrendering it easier to learn to drive the car, and reducingr the danger .of injury to the car in operating th'e'ge'ar' shifting ,de-- vices-and the service 'brake.'- In the use of my" attachment; the requirement for using is applied, or when vide's for automatically shifting,- the .cliitch pedal "from"l'1igh to neutralfiwhen the servnew and useful Invention in Attachments ice brake is appli'e'd,"thus' avoiding the dam ger ofinjury to the mechanism oriof stall ingfthe engine, andfiirt-her providesvforshiftingthe ClHtOhwQBClEl-l from high toneutral automaticallyv when the reverse pedal is-pushed forward to operative v p0sition. The attachment also preferablyin-Y cludes a catch arranged to automaticallyien-r gage one of the parts when the :brake pedal the reverse pedal is Y moved to reversing-position, so'that the operator is relieved of theefl'ort incident hold-- ingthese pedalsdown against-"the tension of the springs which normally. ho'ldftlie pedals in their rear positions. The ca'tchf is arranged so thatibmaybe released by merely giving the clutch' pedal a fiirther. forward movemen't; from its neutral posix tion. One embodi'inent of the n invention :is illustrated "in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation'showingqtheinvention applied, to a standard "reversing mechanism of the type specified. Eigi2flis a section on thelinei'II+II'offFig. "1, the

full' lines indicatingtha position of .Ltheed on the'shaft eXtendingnnto theegean casing {3 {and C is the clutchIand gear Shifting pedal mounted on the shaft 4c" and j-havf ing connections not shown) fronrthe crankarm 5 to the'clutchcontrollin ishafti Asii's well known, the three pedals. are, inthe 1 Ford mechanism, springheld' in their rear w positions, the brake and reversing ;'meoha-- nisms being .at such time in. inoperative po sitions, and the gear'being- 'in highl Orr-1 the forward movementnofthe brake and i everse pedals;- they are brought to operative "posit-ions, ,While on the forward movement of the clutchpedal, it is first .biffought into neutral position ZLIlClzthBII-filltO lows I H I The 1 attachment, which is i applied to i this old and "well known mechanism,"comprises a lever 6, pivoted on the bolt 7, on which is riveted the plate 8 having at its ends the upturned arms 9 and 10, and at its rear side, the flange 11. (Fig. The arm 9 is provided with a laterally extending stud 12 lying immediately behind the clutch pedal and touching it when the; pedal is in its rearmost position (dotted lines Fig. 2). The arm 10 has pivoted thereon at 18 the arm or lever 1 1, such arm having at its upper end the link 15, which is pivoted to a collar 16 secured around the reverse pedal. The lower end of the lever 14 has a laterally turned end 17 (Fig. 3) adapted to engage the screw 18 which acts as an adjustable stop.

The end of the lever 6 is inclined upwardly'as indicated at 19 (Fig. 1) and carries pivoted thereon at 20, a third arm or lever 21, which is provided with a link 22, at its upper end, pivoted to the collar 23 encircling the upper end of the brake pedal B. The lower end .of this arm is turned laterally as shown at 24. (Fig. 4:) and engages the end of the screw 25, which acts as an adjustable stop. The brake and re verse pedals and the arms 21 and 14: are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 in the positions occupied when in rear or inoperative positions.

The bolt 7 on which the outer end of the lever 6 is ivoted extends through the flange 26 of the hotly of the machine and through the body bracket 27 the latter being secured to the channel 28 forming a part of the chassis. In applying the device, this boltmerely takes the place of the ordinary se curing bolt used at this point, so that no extra holes are required, and the device may be readily applied by the purchaser. The bolt comprises a threaded lower end, on which the nut 29 is screwed, an integral head 30, and a stem above the head extending through the sleeve 31 secured in the end of the lever. A washer and cotter pin through the upper end of the bolt completes the attachment.

The operation. and functioning of the attachment as thus far described and without reference, for the time being, to the catch 32' (Fig. 2), later described, is as follows. Assuming that the machine is running in high, the three pedals are all spring held in their rear positions. In order to stop the car, it is only necessary to push forward the brake pedal B. This movement carries forward the arm or lever 21 (Fig. a), the lower end bearing at this time against the stop screw 25, so that the lever 6 is carried. forward. This forward movement of the lever 6 moves the arm 9 forward, the stud 12 contracting with the clutch pedal C, and moving it from the dotted line position marked high in Fig. 2 to the full line position marked neutral. The clutch is thus brought to neutral or inoperative position before the brake is applied, thus relieving the operator of the necessity of applying his other foot to the clutch pedal, and, avoiding the danger of injuring the driving mechanism or of stalling the engine, as sometimes otherwise happens when. the brake is applied before moving the clutch pedal to neutral position.

During the forward movement of the lever 6 as above described, the reverse pedal remains unaffected, because of the pivot and arm connection 13, 14, the lever beingfree to move forward without swinging the arm 14 forward.

If now the brake pedal is allowed to re turn to inoperative position permitting the clutch pedal to return to high, and it is desired to shift to reverse, this is accomphshed by merely pressing the reverse pedal forward, without the necessity of first push- .ing the clutch pedal to neutral position.

The forward movement of the reverse pedal causes the lever 14 to move forward until its lower end engages the stop screw 18, after which the lever 6 is moved forward and the stud 12 on the arm engages the clutch pedal C, as before, moving it to neutral before the reverse pedal reaches its forward operative position. The brake pedal is not affected by this movement, because of the pivot and. arm. connection 2:), '21, which permits the lever 6 to go forward without moving the brake pedal B.

The catch 32 is designed to relieve the operator from the necessity of holding the brake and clutch pedals, or the reverseand clutch pedals, forward against the tension of the springs. This catch is pivoted to swing freely on the end of the clutch shaft 4. This is preferably accomplished by the use of a collar, 33 clamped around the lower end of the clutch pedal and provided with a part 34 provided with the pivot 35 opposite the end of the shaft. The lever 6 has depending from it abracket 36 which cooperates with the catch. \Vhen the lever is pushedforward to bring the clutch pedal to the neutral (full line) position of Fig. 2, the catch engages the bracket and locksthe lever against rearward movement. Thus, if the brake pedal has been moved forward shifting the clutch pedal to neutral position and applying the brake, the clutch pedal .I'S retained in this position after the operator releases the pressure on the brake pedal. This relieves him. of the effort of holding the pedal forward for protracted periods of time. Similarly when the reverse pedal is pushed forward, thus bringing the clutch pedal to neutral position, the catch holds the lever 6 and the clutch pedal forward at neutral position until released.

In order to secure the. release of the catch, it is provided with a finger 37, which is en gagedby a pin 38 projectingfromthe sidesof the. :collar. 83:; when: the clutch 'pedalizis R moved rforward towa-rd :low {from neutral position-,wtheedotted a linesin Fig 2 indicat ingthei-release of the catch due to the" in 0Y8? ment of the pedal to the left fromaieutral positions Its fis thnsnpossi-ble ito-release-the catch l merely givingnthe cl-utch pedal 5 a sli'ght-;forward amovement from. its neutral position. 1

What I fclaim is:-

1. In rcombin-ation'iwith the gearshifting and braking, n'reehanisn1 :of an L automobile including a brake pedal inormally spring-g held at-back' or rear position and acl-utelr and gear shifting pedal! normallyu spring held sat erean v positionwith the igear; :high,"-- and :adapted' at: its next forward position to bring the -clut-ch to release .or neutral posi tion, of an attachment A comprisinga lever pivoted! :to the, framework -or-body of the car on.-the outer side of the clutch pedal -and extending!-transversely of the two pedals;

means'conneeting theinnerend of the lever to the; brakepedal; andsmeans carried by;

theilever intermediate its ends for engaging the. clutch pedal sand? movingit from high toineutral position! when the "brake-pedal: =isj pressed aforward rand: beforethe brake is appliedfi 2.: -In. combination =withzfithe gear shifting" and ibrakingu mechanism of an nautomobilehincluding a :brake 5 pedal I normally; spring held at back orurear positiona clutch and E gearrshifting 'pedal normally spring held -at rear. positionewith lithe geanin high and--= adapted at its next forward position "toe bring .theclutch to releaseor neutral position and at its next forward position to bring the gear into low, and a reverse pedal normally spring held in rear or neutral position and adapted on its forward movement to bring the gear into reverse, of an attachment, comprising a lever pivoted to the framework or body of the car and extending transversely of the three pedals, connections from the lever to the brake and reverse pedals, and means carried by the lever, for engaging the clutch pedal and moving it from its rear position to neutral position either when the brake pedal is pushed forward to braking position, or when the reverse pedal is pushed forward to reversing position.

3. In combination with the gear shifting and braking mechanism of an automobile including a brake pedal normally spring held at back or rear position, a clutch and gear shifting pedal normally spring held at rear position with the gear in high and adaptedat its next forward position to bring the clutch to release or neutral position and at its next forward position to bring the gear into low, and a reverse pedal normally spring held in rear or new tral position -and adapted ronitsforward movementto bring the gear into reverse, of an' attachment, comprising m lever; piv I otedfi to :the framework or body of th'e 'oar ands extendingtransversely o f th-e threeped-als',=-, connectionsfrom: the: lever-= to the-- brake and reverse pedals;-comprisinga pair of upright levers pivoted {intermediate their" endsl to -the first leverqmd adapted to bear againstysuch leverat theirlower ends}, whentheii uppenends are moved lforwardg ancl connected "at their upper --ends' to said brake movingit to :neutral i'position on the for ward molvement of t-he. brake or 1 reverseu 4, In combination-With th' gear 1 shifting and} ib rakingmechanism -of "an aut-omobile including at} brake held ah-back or rearepositi-on, 1 and a: clutch and gear =shifting -pedal: normally spring-- pedal nonnally-spring-- held atzrearposition-witk the gear in li'ighg clutch z pedal and I moving -it from high to neutral position when -'th bra lrel'-:peda l is pressed lfforwardyi andan automatic-engagingicatch for::holding the- (lever in forward 5 positions i Inc-combination: with. the gear shifting and braking mechanism of an automobile including a brake pedal normally spring held at back or rear-position, and a clutch and gear shifting pedal normally spring held at rear position with the gear in high, and adapted at its next forward position to bring the clutch to release or neutral position, of an attachment comprising a lever pivoted to the framework or body of the car on the outer side of the clutch pedal and extending transversely of the two pedals, means connecting the inner end of the lever to the brake pedal, means carried by the lever intermediate its ends for engaging the clutch pedal and moving it from high to neutral position when the brake pedal is pressed forward, an automatically engaging catch for holding the lever in forward position, and means actuated on a further forward movement of the clutch and gear shifting pedal for releasing said catch.

6. In combination with the gear shifting and braking mechanism of an automobile including a brake pedal normally spring held at back or rear position, and a clutch and gear shifting pedal normally spring held at rear position with the gear in high,

and adapted at its next forward position to bring the clutch to release or neutral position, of an attachment comprising a lever pivoted to the framework or body of the car on the outer side of the clutchpeda-l and extending transversely of the two pedals, means connecting the inner end of the lever to the brake pedal, means carried by the lever intermediate its ends for engaging the clutch pedal-and moving it from high to neutral positionwhen the brake pedal is pressed forward, an automatically engaging catch pivoted on the shaft of the clutch and gear shifting pedal for holding the lever in forward position, and means carried by the clutch and gear shitting pedal for releasing said catch when said pedal is moved forward from neutral position.

7. In combination with the gear shifting and braking mechanism of an automobile including a brake-pedal'normally spring held at back or-rear position, a clutch and gear shifting pedal normally spring held at rear position with the gear in high and adapted at its next forward. position to bring the clutch to release or neutral posi:

tion and at its next-forward position to bring the gear into low, and a reverse pedal normally spring held in rear or neutral position and adapted on its forward movement to bring the gear into reverse, of an attachment, comprising'a lever pivoted to the franieworkor body of the car and extending transversely of the three pedals, connections from the lever :to the brake and reverse pedals, means carried by the lever for engaging the clutch pedal and moving;, it from its rear position to neutral position either when the brake pedal is pushed forward to braking position, or when the reverse pedal is pushed forward to reversing position, and an automaticallyen held at back or rear position, a clutch, and

gear shifting pedal normally spring held at rear position with the gear in high and adapted at its next forward position to bring the clutch to release or neutral position and at the next forward position to bringthe gear into low, and a reverse pedal normally spring held in rear or neutral position and adapted on its forward movement to bring the gear into reverse, of an attachment, comprising a lever-.piv oted to the framework or body of the car and extending transversely of the three pedals, connections from the lever to the brake. and reverse pedals, means carried by the lever for engaging the clutch pedal and moving it from its, rear position to neutral position either when the brake pedal is pushed forward to braking position, or when the reverse pedal is pushed forwardto reversing position, an automatically engaging catch for holding the lever in such for.- ward position, and means actuated on a further forward movement of the clutch and gear shifting pedal for releasing said catch.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto v subscribed my name this 11th day of J uly, 1923.

VAGLAV CHUCHEL; 

